Information protection top-of-mind for SMBs in Singapore

By SMBWorld Asia Editors | Aug 24, 2010

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Symantec has released the Singapore findings of its 2010 Global SMB Information Protection Survey. The survey reveals that small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs with 10 to 499 employees) are aware of the need to adopt a complete information protection strategy that goes beyond a basic antivirus solution.

About 62 percent of the respondents cited data loss as a key concern area and the same number considered cyber attacks as a potential business risk.

The 2010 findings indicate that information protection initiatives, such as backup, recovery and archiving are finding acceptance. The current annual average spend on IT is approximately S$12,900 (approx. US$10,000).

A noteworthy trend is a marked increase in the adoption of backup and recovery solutions (73 percent), as well as new technology such as deduplication (53 percent), either installed, or in the process of installation.

“The impact of losing critical business information is detrimental for SMBs and can result in damaged reputation and revenue losses,” said Tan Yuh Woei, country manager, Symantec.

“Last year, a Symantec survey found that security awareness levels were lower and many SMBs did not have even a basic antivirus solution in place. The 2010 survey findings highlight a progressive trend towards SMBs adopting a more comprehensive information protection strategy.”

Survey Highlights

• Data Loss and its Impact
  According to the survey, 84 percent consider loss of critical business information a major concern. 67 percent of respondents lost proprietary or confidential data in 2009, with 64 percent suffering revenue losses. A significant number (54 percent) reported negative impact on their image and 48 percent saw a dip in customer trust.

• Braving Cyber Attacks
  Cyber attacks continue to plague Singaporean SMBs. 54 percent of SMBs were prone to few cyber attacks this year, while 16 percent of SMBs faced them on a regular basis. However, 30 percent of SMBs saw an increase in cyber attacks against their organization. Out of these attacks, 26 percent were rated as “somewhat/ highly effective”. The average annual cost of these cyber attacks for SMBs in APJ was US$152,266.